Toy vehicle



Cd. 1, 1935. STANNARD 2,015,974

TOY VEHICLE Filed May 14, 1954 2/0 2/ "Fm-m1! INVENTOR. \BENJAMINESTANNARD hm... MMwLk/7 ATTORNEYS. f V

Patented Oct. 1, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY VEHICLEApplication May 14, 1934, Serial No. 725,617

1 Claim.

This invention relates to and has for an object the provision of a toyvehicle which in one of its many adaptations is constructed insimulation of a horse adapted to be ridden astride by a child and tohave imparted thereto by various movements of the child, motions insimulation of galloping, bucking, rearing, etc., all to the end. ofproviding amusement and healthful exercise for the child.

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy vehicle embodying asupport for the operator, and a novel mounting means therefor by whichthe support can be moved over a surface and will yieldingly sustain theweight of the operator in such manner that by certain movements theoperator can depress the support vertically and/or tilt the support in afore-and-aft direction.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction and arrangement of elements as set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the toy vehicle embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a view of the toy vehicle in side elevation;

Figure 3 is a view of the toy vehicle in front elevation.

In its present embodiment, the toy vehicle coinprises a support for anoperator, in the form of a flat body H], the outline of which simulatesa horse. The surface of the body can be painted or otherwise marked toenhance its appearance and is provided with a seat I I in simulation ofa saddle, and with a handle bar l2 in advance of the seat, adapted to begripped by the operator. A bridle I3 is also provided for use in lieu ofthe handle bar.

In conjunction with the support formed by the body Ill, a novel mountingmeans is provided which includes front and rear members l4 and I5,respectively. These members are identical in construction in order tosimplify manufacture, and each comprises a triangular frame, the sidebars l6--l 6 of which are secured together at their free ends by a rivetI! which passes through the bars and through a plate l8 interposedbetween the bars. The other ends of the bars l6l6 are connected by across bar l9; and adjacent the latter an axle passes through the sidebars and has wheels 2l2l mounted thereon at the outer sides of the sidebars.

The mounting members I4 and I5 are fulcrumed on the body It at theirupper ends by means of bolts 22 and 23, respectively, which pass throughthe side bars l6 and plate i8 of the respective members, and throughbearing bars 2t-25 vertically disposed at opposite sides of the 5 bodyit and rigidly secured thereto by rivets 26 and 2?, respectively. I

The bearing bars 24 and 25 project a short distance below the bottomedge of the body H) to receive the bolts, and it will be clear that bythis 1:) construction the mounting members are connected to the body forpivotal movement about transverse axes located at points spaced apart aconsiderable distance in a fore-and-aft direction.

Col-acting with the mounting members M and l5 i5 is a yieldable orresilient means in the form of a coil spring 28, the ends of which passthrough suitable openings in the plates l8 of the respective members.The spring operatively connects the members and urges same towards eachother 20 relatively to the position shown in full lines in Figure 2,wherein the plates I8 abut the under edge of the body I 0 to definitelylimit such movement of the members under the action of the spring. 25

The operation of the invention is as follows:

Assuming that the vehicle is resting on a level surface and that theseat II is unoccupied, the spring 28 will co -act with the members M andI5 to sustain the body it in the fully elevated and 30 substantiallylevel position shown in full lines in Figure 2. When a child is astridethe body H), the body will be depressed against the action of the spring28, and to an extent depending on the strength of the spring and theweight of the child. In response to j-ouncing movements or shifting ofthe childs weight forwardly or rearwardly, cor responding movements willbe imparted to the body it) as the spring 28 will yield to allow pivotalmovements of the mounting members i l and I5 about their respective axesof the body IEI, all as shown in Figure 2. By working the feet againstthe surface on which the vehicle is resting, the child can propelhimself as the body is caused to move vertically and/ or tilt in a foreor aft direction in simulation of galloping, bucking and rearingmovements of a horse, much to the enjoyment of the child. Ihe devicealso provides healthful exercise and is otherwise beneficial to thechild in enabling him to develop a sense of balance, so as to maintainhimself in equilibrium on the vehicle.

What is claimed is:

A toy vehicle comprising a support consisting of a vertically disposedthin strip of material of uniform thickness having bearing bars securedin front and rear pairs to the respective sides thereof; identical frontand rear frame members each pivotally connected at its upper end to are- 5 spective pair of the aforementioned bearing bars; stop devicescarried by said frame members and disposed to contact the lower edge ofthe support; and a spring for normally urging the frame members towardeach other and the stop devices against said lower edge of said support.

BENJAMIN F; STANNARD.

